A new DC Comics locale shares its name with a California ghost town
Publisher DC Comics offers its readers a variety of distinctive urban settings in the narrative continuity that comprises its fictional “universe” — Batman’s gritty Gotham City, Superman’s bustling modern Metropolis, and Starman’s Art Deco-inspired Opal City, among others. DC’s latest locale — Last Chance, California — features a diverse history and unique landscape, and happens to share its name with a real-world California ghost town.
In the one-shot anthology comic WildStorm 30th Anniversary Special #1 (released on November 29, 2022), various stories showcase characters previously featured in DC’s WildStorm imprint (this imprint once had its own separate narrative continuity, but the imprint’s characters have since been incorporated into DC’s established continuity); in the story “City Boy and the King of Cities,” the creative team of writer Greg Pak, artist Minkyu Jung, colorist Sunny Gho, and letterer Wes Abbott present the superhero protagonist Jack Hawksmoor visiting Last Chance.
With his urban-based superpowers, Hawksmoor can communicate with cities, and Last Chance directs Hawksmoor to observe Cameron Kim — a mysterious young man who uses his apparent magical abilities to find lost valuables throughout the city; Hawksmoor has a short confrontation with Kim, dubbing him “City Boy.” The story is brief — just eight pages — but the creative team uses the confrontation both to establish a new DC locale and introduce a new character (City Boy is expected to appear in the upcoming Lazarus Planet: Legends Reborn #1, a tie-in comic to DC’s Lazarus Planet narrative event).
Hawksmoor narrates the story, starting with information about the city’s unique topography:
Last Chance, California. A city that shouldn’t be. Built on bluff on a peninsula overlooking a rocky bay. The windiest, wettest, most inhospitable place within a thousand miles.
Hawksmoor’s narration also provides details regarding the city’s history as a refuge for the unwanted:
But in 1872, it was the only place left for a few dozen Chinese workers displaced by white mobs. They built a camp. Which became a town. Which started to attract other outsiders of all kinds. Six generations and three major waves of immigration later, it’s the biggest city between San Francisco and Portland.
Hawksmoor’s description presents a city with a challenging, inhospitable climate: “Lashed by wind, buffeted by storms, almost always shrouded in mist… it’s still the last place you’d think anyone would want to live.” And yet Hawksmoor loves the city, noting that it is “A home for anyone who can’t find one anywhere else.”
The art team of Jung and Gho render Last Chance with details that confirm Hawksmoor’s musings. A statue depicts the city’s Chinese working-class founders; Last Chance is built into a prominent bluff, with rocky cliffs backing the city’s buildings. Rainfall is constant throughout the story, contributing to the dark and stormy setting.
Although the local climate and rocky bay-side location are visually interesting, Last Chance’s history is arguably the city’s most intriguing feature. With its origin as a 19th Century Asian community that has endured and prospered with a civic ethos of inclusion, Last Chance provides an appealing vision of a welcoming, harmonious city that can be a home to individuals or groups that may be marginalized or unwelcome in other localities.
Interestingly, although Last Chance, California, is a fictional locale, it shares its name with a real-world ghost town, located in Placer County, California. This ghost town sprang up during the California Gold Rush; in 1850, a group of prospectors discovered gold nearby. Reputedly, one prospector remarked that the location was the group’s “last chance” to find gold in the area; subsequently, another prospector shot a grouse for food and when he retrieved the fallen bird, noticed a rock containing gold. When the hunter told the rest of the party of his discovery, they recalled the recent “last chance” comment, and decided to call the site “Last Chance.”
A mining community was established at Last Chance in 1852; by 1884, Last Chance had over 25 homes, a two-story hotel, a sawmill, a butcher shop, and various saloons. However, like its fictional namesake, Last Chance faced a challenging topography and climate; the area featured steep hills and bluff rocks, and snowfall made it difficult for miners to get supplies in the wintertime. These geographic conditions hindered economic diversification; when mining operations eventually ceased, Last Chance became an abandoned ghost town.
Despite both communities being located in California, and enduring similarly adverse geographic conditions, it is unclear whether the California ghost town inspired the name of the fictional city; regardless, the new DC locale of Last Chance offers readers an intriguing and diverse urban setting that has the potential to showcase interesting heroes, villains, and adventures for years to come.
NOTES AND FURTHER READING:
DISCLOSURE: As works published by DC Comics are referenced in the above article, it should be disclosed that the article’s author is a former DC Comics contributor. There are no current financial arrangements between the author and DC Comics.
WildStorm 30th Anniversary Special #1 (Greg Pak, Minkyu Jung, Sunny Gho, et al.; DC Comics, November 29, 2022)
“Nightwing’s New Crimefighting Partner Debuts in DC’s Wildstorm Special” (Brandon Schreur; www.cbr.com, November 29, 2022)
“Last Chance, Placer County, California” (https://californiagenealogy.org; linked source available online as of January 8, 2023)
“Last Chance and Other Ghost Towns in Placer County” (Lois Larimore; www.placerliving.com, August 28, 2015)
“Last Chance” (www.ghosttowns.com; linked source available online as of January 8, 2023)
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